Taking Back Time
by Aegis Sapphire
Summary: Dabi and Endeavor can't take back the things they've done... but it is possible to reverse some effects, thanks to the help of one little girl. This was honestly the only way I can think of Dabi being free if he turns out to be Touya. WARNING; abuse is mentioned.


**I decided to think of a way that, if Dabi was Touya, would be able to avoid getting arrested. This was the only thing I could think of.**

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He ran away as fast as he could, explosions and blue fire behind him as he did so. A bundle in his arms huddled against him as he clutched it close to himself. He couldn't fight alongside them anymore. Not after he learned what they had to do to this girl in order to make more bullets. He realized then and there that the League of Villains did not exist to upturn the corrupt system of heroes: it was there to upturn society as a whole and let crime run rampant. He always had a feeling but he was so hell bent on getting revenge that he was blind to what they were really doing. Soon, the noise behind them died out and they were well away from where all the conflict took place. He still did not hold still though; he was the only one that could protect them and while he could easily fight most of the league off with his flames, he wasn't about to risk it. They knew where his apartment was, too. So he didn't dare risk going there, either. But, he knew of one place on the outskirts of town. It wasn't even indoors but, he knew it would do for temporary shelter until he could figure out where to safely put the girl where the UA can reclaim her. He didn't realize they were already being followed. Endeavor typically was quick to deal with villains but, this was the first time he saw someone from the League deviate like this. He never thought that Dabi, out of all of them, would turn against them like this but, he was thankful for it. Endeavor figured that if he could follow him and catch him peacefully, he might be able to get some information off of him. What he didn't know was that he was going to be faced with a difficult decision as a hero.

Soon, Dabi came to the area he was hoping for: a secluded beach. He looked around cautiously before setting Eri down. He sat down on the sand near her to catch his breath. Eri looked around fearfully before looking at Dabi. Endeavor thought about coming out to go capture him but he couldn't help but watch.

"Why did you save me?" She asked cautiously.

Dabi sat up and Eri shrunk, fearing he was going to do something.

"I didn't join the League of Villains to kill innocent people, especially children." He said, looking at her.

Dabi frowned at how she cowered from him. It brought back memories... memories he would rather forget. She looked at him the same way his mother looked at his father. He cringed at that though and tried to offer her a friendly smile.

"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you. If I hurt a child, I would never forgive myself." He said reassuringly.

Eri relaxed a little bit. Showing kindness was not something Endeavor expected from this particular villain. He decided to keep watching them. Maybe he could find out some key information by watching them. He then noticed Hawks a distance a way. Hawks tried to signal that he was about to go in but Endeavor stopped him. He wanted to hear them talk. Hawks was surprised that Endeavor hadn't stopped them already. Nevertheless, Hawks also decided to wait patiently.

"Why did you join them?" Eri asked.

Both heroes listened this time. Not even Hawks could figure out the answer to this question when he was spying on them. So, he was curious, too.

Dabi hesitated but, nevertheless, he figured maybe this child had a right to know. After all, she had grown up in a worse situation than he did.

"I wanted to eradicate this world of fake heroes. I wanted to make it so that if there were going to be heroes, there would only be heroes that were heroes for the sake of saving everyone. Not just for fame or money... or to be the top hero. These days, there are too many heroes that are heroes just for the glory of it. Not many of them do it just to save everyone from evil anymore. I wanted to get rid of those heroes, leaving those who only want to save people as the true heroes." He said.

Eri looked at him thoughtfully.

"Well... What good does being a villain do? And if people are saving others, why question their reason for doing it? Aren't they still doing a good thing?" She asked.

"Being a villain... I guess it didn't help anything in the end. But don't you think someone saving lives just for to get something in return is wrong?" He asked.

Eri thought for a moment.

"But... Every hero saves lives to get something back. Even Mirio." She said.

"Oh? And what was that?" Dabi asked.

"He said my smile made everything worth it." She said.

Dabi chuckled at her. He felt bad that Mirio lost his quirk. That kid didn't deserve it.

"That's what true heroes are supposed to think." He said.

"But he still got something from me. Why question why people are doing great things if they are doing great things?" She asked.

Dabi laid on his back.

"Because that doesn't mean they're great people at home. Not to their families." He said.

Eri looked at him with a questioning look. Hawks and Endeavor also held the same curiosity. Just who is this man?

"Why do you say that?" She asked.

He hesitated again. Did he really want to tell her? He let out a sigh.

"My father was a hero but... He honestly didn't care about me or my brother and sister. Mom was nothing more than his personal tool to make a powerful kid with. Finally, my younger brother was born. When his quirk manifested, father decided that he was going to be the next powerful hero. The hero to surpass All Might. Then it was him he paid attention to. He treated the rest of us as if we were failures if he even acknowledged our existence. But, honestly, my younger brother had it pretty bad, too. Father would force him to train and mother would try to stop him but if she got in the way, he'd beat her, too. We could only look on helplessly as they would scream and cry." Dabi said.

A pit had formed in Endeavor's stomach as realization hit him... no... it couldn't be, could it? Hawks, not knowing about Endeavor's home life looked on at Dabi sympathetically.

"Eventually, he had driven mom so insane that she started to get paranoid about me and my siblings turning out to be like him. Most only heard about what happened to Shoto because she physically hurt him. But... she has said some things to me and my other siblings. Fuyumi always tried to act like she said nothing and Natsuo spent some time away from her during that time. But I... well... Let's just say that when she said that I looked like my father... she said it in a way that drove me to certain extremes, too." He said, holding his hand out and looking at the scarring on his wrist.

Now Hawks was starting to put two and two together. He knew who Shoto and Fuyumi were... and at second glance, Dabi did kind of look like... shocked was an understatement from Hawks' perspective as he also realized just who this villain really was. Meanwhile, Endeavor had no idea that his wife had also hurt their other kids. No wonder she hadn't asked for a divorce: she was just as guilty, even if she was technically driven to that state. She had things to atone for, too. A bitter laugh from Dabi broke their thoughts.

"Even if I gouged my eyes out, I still can't stand the sight of myself. Especially now after everything I've done... Who am I kidding? This was all just my excuse to get revenge on my father. I'm no hero and my reasons aren't even nearly as noble as Stain's... Innocent people got hurt, too. I'm no better than any villain or my father. I guess it's true... this abuse... this violence... it really is a cycle." He said.

Eri grew silent.

"Well... you saved me." She said.

"One life doesn't make up for the others that had died." He said.

"If it's a cycle, shouldn't I be dead?" She said.

He bit his lip. He sat back up, scratching one of the staples on his cheek. He swore under his breath when it fell off, leaving a bleeding gash on his face.

"How did that happen?" She asked.

Dabi held his sleeve against his cheek.

"I didn't like how I looked. So I decided to burn myself. But, that causes skin to shrink and my skin is constantly trying to pull apart." He said.

Eri stood up and walked up to him. She remembered working on her quirk with Aizawa: she'd practice with a flower, making it slowly rewind back into a bud in her hand. She reached forward.

"I can heal you... but I haven't been able to use my quirk on people very well." She said.

Dabi looked at her thoughtfully before smiling at her gently.

"Well, either way, I'm dead. If the league finds me, I'm dead. If a hero or the police find me, I'm probably dead, too. So... go ahead." He said, removing his sleeve from the cut.

Eri then touched the cut gently and as she used her quirk, she thought of the rose Aizawa had her practice with last time. It was withered and going to seed. She imagined that flower as she allowed her quirk to slowly rewind Dabi's wound. But, Eri decided to continue. She remembered watching it slowly regain its petals and as the staple from his skin fell away and his scarring return to a pink color, she remembered the flower slowly folding it's petals back up. Briefly, the old burns returned only to slowly heal. She remembered watching the rose turn back into a tight bud and she removed her hand. She fell to her knees, exhausted. The horn on her head had nearly vanished again, shrinking back to nothing more than a tiny bump again. She looked back up at Dabi to see just regular skin... and red hair. He and everyone else were shocked. In the sand was unmistakably Touya Todoroki.

"I thought you were just going to heal that cut." He said, surprised.

"I'm sorry. Did I go back too far?" She asked.

Touya wasn't sure what to think about this but, he didn't want Eri to feel like she had failed him.

"No... No you didn't. Thanks, Eri." He said.

Eri smiled.

"It was the least I could do." She said.

He then caught sight of Endeavor approaching them. Hawks followed although his feathers were ruffled.

"I don't think that matters now though." He said, looking down in shame.

Both heroes hesitated and Hawks went to subdue Touya but Endeavor stopped him.

"Let him go." He said.

Touya looked at him with a questioning look.

"But he's still a villain." Hawks said.

Endeavor looked at Touya.

"I will let you go but only once. No more chances after this. If you continue being a villain, I will have no choice. But, for now, let's just keep this between us." Endeavor said.

Hawks frowned but he couldn't disagree; after hearing that story, he didn't think Touya deserved going to jail after what he went through. Hawks let out a sigh and then walked over to Eri. He held his arms out to her to carry her and she wordlessly walked up to him and he lifted her up.

"Careful, Hawks. You're still trying to work with the League, right? Carrying her back to the UA might look bad." Touya said.

"You know I'm a spy?" He asked

"I had a feeling. I was the one who didn't trust you. Everyone else did. But I think you should let d- er- Endeavor take her back. You already looked suspicious during that fight with High End." he said.

Hawks was not comfortable with the idea of Endeavor taking Eri after that story but Touya was right. Eri, though she didn't know Endeavor was Touya's father, she still found him scary. Endeavor let out a sigh and reached over to grab her. She let him carry her but she was obviously uncomfortable. Endeavor himself wasn't the best with children but he knew how to deal with them when necessary. The fire on the side of his body he held her on was put out but he kept that side warm. It was cool outside anyway. Eri didn't realize how cold she felt until he held her. Nevertheless, it was still awkward. He rolled his eyes and looked at her.

"Do I really look that scary?" He asked, attempting and failing at a hilariously awkward smile.

Eri couldn't help but laugh and Touya smirked. That was the most awkward attempt at a smile either of them had ever seen but it worked; Eri felt more relaxed with him. Hawks normally would have laughed, too, if he hadn't just learned that his childhood hero abused his family. Endeavor facepalmed.

"Might need to work on that, old man." Touya said.

"You better get out of here before someone else comes." Endeavor told him.

"Yeah." He said, getting up.

Touya looked at the hoodie around him. He took it off and lit it on fire, watching it burn into ash in his hand. He walked down the beach and the heroes and Eri went the opposite direction.

"Thanks... dad." Touya muttered as he walked away.

Hawks walked next to Endeavor.

"Why did you let him go? Especially after... all that." Hawks said.

Endeavor was silent for a second.

"I want to make up for what I did to them. If Touya went to jail... especially if he got the death sentence, there would be no way I could make it up to my family. Not completely." Endeavor said.

Eri looked up at him, figuring out what they were talking about.

"But why did you do that to them?" She asked.

Endeavor let out a sigh.

"I was stupid. I was blinded by a pointless dream and tried to make my son fulfill that dream for me. I guess I never considered who it would hurt in the process. I never considered how it reflected me as a hero, either." He said.

"And you expect everything to be okay now?" Hawks asked, glaring at him.

Endeavor shook his head.

"What I did will never be okay. It will never go away. That is something my family and I will have to live with. But from here on out, I'll try to at least make everything better than things were before. I'm not going to hurt any of them ever again." He said.

"I'll hold you to that, old man." Hawks said, not dropping his glare.

Endeavor frowned at him but he let out a sigh. Hawks did just learn the truth about him after all. This was to be expected. Hawks then decided to say something else.

"I'm still going to ask your daughter out." Hawks said.

Endeavor glared at him. If he wasn't holding Eri, he would have barbecued Hawks like a chicken.

"Shouldn't you be somewhere else?" Endeavor asked with a heated glare.

Hawks chuckled before flying away. Eri looked up at Hawks and he gave her a friendly wave before flying away. She waved back timidly. She then turned to Endeavor.

"What's wrong with him going out with your daughter?" She asked.

"Nothing... He's just annoying." Endeavor said, glaring after him.

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 **And that does it for that! I even snuck in my favorite ship!**


End file.
